WEST virginia Legislature
2016 regular session
Introduced
Senate Bill 521
By Senators Hall, Blair, Prezioso, Kessler, Facemire, Boley, Romano, Beach, Trump, Plymale, Williams, Miller and Gaunch
[Introduced February
5, 2016;
Referred to the Committee on Government Organization; and then to the Committee
on Finance.]
A BILL to repeal §7-18-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §7-18-1 and §7-18-3 of said code, all relating to eliminating exemption from hotel occupancy taxes on rental of hotel and motel rooms for thirty or more consecutive days; redefining certain terms; and exempting hotel rooms occupied by government officials on official business under certain circumstances.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-18-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be repealed; and that §7-18-1 and §7-18-3 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 18. HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.
§7-18-1. Hotel occupancy tax.
(a) Authority to impose.
-- On and after July 1, 1985, any county or municipality may impose and collect
a privilege tax upon the occupancy of hotel rooms located within its taxing
jurisdiction. Such The tax shall be imposed and collected as
provided in this article.
(b) Municipal tax.
-- A municipal hotel tax shall be imposed by ordinance enacted by the governing
body of the municipality, in accordance with the provisions of article eleven,
chapter eight of this code. Such The tax shall be imposed
uniformly throughout the municipality; and the tax shall apply to all hotels
located within the corporate limits of the municipality, including hotels owned
by the state or by any political subdivision of this state.
(c) County tax. -- A
county hotel tax shall be imposed by order of the county commission duly
entered of record. Such The tax shall be imposed uniformly
throughout the county: Provided, That no county commission may impose
its tax on hotels located within the corporate limits of any municipality
situated, in whole or in part, within the county: Provided, however,
That the tax collected by a hotel owned by a municipality but located outside
the corporate limits of such the municipality pursuant to this
article shall be remitted to the municipality owning such the hotel
for expenditure pursuant to the provisions of section fourteen of this article.
The tax shall apply to all hotels located outside the corporate limits of a
municipality, including hotels owned by the state or any political subdivision
of this state.
(d) The tax shall be
imposed on the consumer and shall be collected by the hotel operator as part of
the consideration paid for the occupancy of a hotel room: Provided, That
the tax shall may not be imposed on any consumer occupying a
hotel room for thirty or more consecutive days federal or state
officials occupying a hotel room for official federal or state business: Provided,
however, That a room paid for by a federal official for which reimbursement
is made is subject to the Hotel Occupancy Tax under this article.
§7-18-3. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article:
(a) "Consideration paid" or "consideration" means the amount received in money, credits, property or other consideration for or in exchange for the right to occupy a hotel room as herein defined.
(b) "Consumer"
means a person who pays the consideration for the use or occupancy of a hotel
room. The term "consumer" shall does not be
construed to mean the government of the United States of America, its
agencies or instrumentalities, or the government of the State of West Virginia
or political subdivisions thereof.
(c) "Hotel" means
any facility, building or buildings, publicly or privately owned (including a
facility located in a state, county or municipal park), in which the public may,
for a consideration, obtain sleeping accommodations. The term shall include
includes but is not be limited to, boarding houses,
hotels, motels, inns, courts, condominiums, lodges, cabins and tourist homes.
The term "hotel" shall include includes state, county
and city parks offering accommodations as herein set forth. The term
"hotel" shall not be construed to does not mean any
a hospital, sanitarium, extended care facility, nursing home or
university or college housing unit, or any facility providing fewer than three
in private homes, not exceeding a total of ten days in a calendar year, nor any
tent, trailer or camper campsites: Provided, That where a university or
college housing unit provides sleeping accommodations for the general
nonstudent public for a consideration, the term "hotel" shall does,
if otherwise applicable, apply to such those accommodations for
the purposes of this tax.
(d) "Hotel
operator" means the person who is proprietor of a hotel, whether in the
capacity of owner, lessee, mortgagee in possession, licensee, trustee in
possession, trustee in bankruptcy, receiver, executor or in any other capacity.
Where the hotel operator performs his or her functions through a
managing agent of any type or character other than an employee, the managing
agent shall also be deemed is a hotel operator for the purposes
of this article and shall have has the same duties and
liabilities as his or her principal. Compliance with the provisions of
this article by either the principal or the managing agent shall is,
however, be considered to be compliance by both.
(e) "Hotel room"
means any room or suite of rooms or other facility affording sleeping accommodations
to the general public and situated within a hotel. The term "hotel
room" shall not be construed to mean does not include:
(1) A banquet room, meeting room or any other room not primarily used for, or in conjunction with, sleeping accommodations; or
(2) Sleeping accommodations rented on a month-to-month basis or other rental arrangement for thirty days or longer at the inception at a boarding house, condominium, cabin, tourist home, apartment or home.
(f) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, syndicate, social club, fraternal organization, joint stock company, receiver, corporation, guardian, trust, business trust, trustee, committee, estate, executor, administrator or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
(g) "State park"
means any state-owned facility which is part of this state's park and
recreation system established pursuant to this code. For purposes of this
article, any recreational facility otherwise qualifying as a "hotel"
and situated within a state park shall be deemed is considered to
be solely within the county in which the building or buildings comprising said
the facility are physically situated, notwithstanding the fact that the
state park within which said the facility is located may lie within
the jurisdiction of more than one county.
(h) "Tax," "taxes" or "this tax" means the hotel occupancy tax authorized by this article.
(i) "Taxing authority" means a municipality or county levying or imposing the tax authorized by this article.
(j) "Taxpayer" means any person liable for the tax authorized by this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow county commissions and municipalities to impose their hotel occupancy taxes on hotel and motel rooms regardless of the length of time for which the hotel or motel room is rented. It also provides that the tax is not imposed on rooms rented to government officials on official business who are not reimbursed for the stay.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.